The invention relates generally to a mooring device for securing vessels to piers or docks. More particularly, the invention relates to a mooring device which provides damping for a vessel moored to a fixed or movable dock or pier configuration. More specifically, the invention concerns a mooring device usable alone or with other identical or differing mooring devices to provide three dimensional damping and restraint for a vessel in varying water conditions.
The mooring of vessels has undergone little evolution over the years. In general, various combinations of mooring lines and fenders have been employed in combinations dictated by the particular configuration of the vessel and the mooring berth. In regard to various types of ships, a plurality of mooring lines are normally used in conjunction with a plurality of strategically placed fenders. The mooring lines provide restraint for the distance that the vessel is displaced from a pier or dock in one or more general directions. Normally a plurality of fenders are employed at selected positions on the pier or dock to prevent the vessel from coming into direct contact with the pier or dock during the inevitable movements proximate thereto. Improvements in the mooring of large ships according to the foregoing has been largely limited to improvements in the configuration of and materials from which fenders are fabricated and the use of synthetic fibers to provide an extent of resilience in mooring lines.
The mooring of relatively small ships and boats has generally followed a comparable pattern. In many instances mooring techniques have evolved around the use of smaller sized mooring lines and fenders comparable to those used in the handling of larger ships. In the case of relatively small craft efforts have been made to employ mooring lines in combination with rigid structural members which maintain the craft a minimum fixed distance from a pier or dock but permit an extent of vertical motion to accommodate wave conditions and perhaps minor tidal variations. An example of such rigid structural members involves a triangular support attached at two points to a pier or dock with the third point of the triangle attached to an oar lock or other fitting on the boat.
The various types of mooring discussed above have suffered the common disability of requiring frequent supervision to adjust for variations in water conditions, wind direction, tide and other factors. In order to avoid the requisite supervision or the alternative damage to piers or docks or vessels or both, a number of types of hoists have been developed for small to medium-sized boats which permit suspension of a boat above the water proximate a dock or pier facility. Such suspension devices, besides being relatively expensive in comparison with conventional mooring equipment are substantially less convenient and require more extensive maintenance. As a result of the above factors the various prior art approaches to the mooring particularly of small boats has not produced a device which has satisfied the various requirements and achieved broad commercial acceptance.